Two women kicked off Heathrow plane after fight breaks out over Trump MAGA hat ahead of US election
30 October 2024, 10:24
Two women were kicked off a plane at Heathrow after a row broke out over a 'Make America Great Again' cap.
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The argument took place as passengers waited to board a British Airways flight travelling from London to Austin, Texas on Monday.
Take-off was delayed for two hours, the Sun reported.
The row came just over a week before the US presidential election between Donald Trump, the Republican former president, and Kamala Harris, the current vice president. The campaign period has been bad-tempered.
As the passengers were waiting to board the plane on Monday, one woman was wearing a cap, which the other demanded she remove it.
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The Trump supporter said no, and as the row escalated punches were thrown in front of other passengers.
The dispute carried on on the plane, with the pair confronting each other in the premium economy section, where both were seated.
Staff called for help and the police arrived to take them off the plane. Neither was arrested but both accused the other of affray.
A source at Heathrow, the UK's biggest airport said the case was "extraordinary,” adding that “BA officials cannot recall a flight being delayed before due to a passenger’s baseball cap.".
They told the paper: “With the US Presidential election so close, tensions are sky high. Airline crew could not run the risk of a full scale punch-up at 30,000ft."
BA said: “We apologised to our customers for the delay and got them on the way as quickly as possible.”
Police said they were investigating the incident.
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A spokesperson for the Met added: “Shortly after 12.45pm on Monday, 28 October, police at Heathrow were made aware of an incident involving two women waiting to board a plane in Terminal 5.
"A woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s made counter allegations of affray.
“Enquiries are ongoing."
